Jade Santoro broke a nearly yearlong public silence Thursday, giving a detailed account in open court of an alleged attack by three off-duty San Francisco police officers that left him with a broken nose and a gash on his head.

It was the first time Santoro had spoken publicly about the encounter last Nov. 20 with former Officer Alex Fagan Jr., the son of Police Chief Alex Fagan Sr., and Officers Matthew Tonsing and David Lee.

The three are charged with assault causing great bodily injury; Lee is also charged with drunken driving, and Fagan with being drunk in public. All have pleaded not guilty.

Santoro testified at a preliminary hearing that he didn't remember several details of the night, including how and by whom he was first hit, largely because he lost consciousness.

The encounter followed an evening at neighborhood bars, Santoro said. According to a defense motion in May, Santoro's blood alcohol level was between 0.14 and 0.17 percent at the time of the fight, roughly twice the level of legal drunkenness. The police officers' alcohol levels have not been made public.

Santoro admitted to having three beers and two shots before he helped bartender Adam Snyder close the Blue Light bar on Union Street about 2 a.m. But he said he had nothing to do with provoking the incident.

When prosecutor Michon Martin asked Santoro if he had threatened or touched the three men, he replied, "Definitely not."

Santoro said the incident started when he and Snyder ignored the demand of one of the men that Snyder hand over his box of takeout fajitas. However, despite writing a statement the night of the incident alleging he was first hit with a bottle, Santoro said Thursday he isn't sure what happened.

"I don't remember being hit, but I remember being on the ground and trying to get up," Santoro said.

He said all three men kicked and stomped him "like they were taking shifts" as he lay in fetal position, coming in and out of consciousness.

"I was in tears. ... There was blood everywhere," Santoro said. "Blood was shooting out of my head."

Santoro said the gash on his head required four staples and he was unable to breathe through his nose. Most of his body was swollen and, at one point, he vomited blood, Santoro said.

Attorneys for the defendants grilled him on inconsistencies between his statements to police, a grand jury and in court Thursday. They asked why a police report said Santoro had reported swearing at the three officers before the alleged attack, while he testified that he had never used profanity.

The defense also asked why Santoro had told the grand jury he gave paramedics a false name because he was afraid of incurring an ambulance bill, but testified Thursday that he had never been in an ambulance before the Union Street incident.

Santoro attributed the discrepancies to the concussion he sustained and his agitation after the incident. He repeatedly said he did not recall details of his past statements.

The legal battles were especially fierce as the defense tried to question Santoro about his history of drug crimes.

Santoro admitted he had been arrested for marijuana possession before the November incident and had been in possession of less than a gram of cocaine when he checked into the hospital after the alleged beating.

Santoro was never charged with cocaine possession and is eligible to have the marijuana case reduced to a misdemeanor, but he said that had nothing to do with his status as a witness against the three officers.

Defense attorneys ridiculed that suggestion outside court. "People who have felony convictions and are charged with crimes do not have the credibility with juries that other people have," said Jim Collins, attorney for Fagan Jr.